November 17, 2019
In his fascinating book called When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, Daniel Pink writes about a “little studied emotion” awe.
He quotes two scholars who say that awe lives “in the upper reaches of pleasure and on the boundary of fear.”
It has two key attributes: vastness (the experience of something larger than ourselves) and accommodation (the vastness forces us to adjust our mental structures.)
They say that the experience of awe changes our perception of time. When we experience awe, time slows down. It expands.
A good conclusion is that “living in the present” is not enough. We need to let awe “integrate our perspectives on time into a coherent whole, one that help us understand who we are and why we are here.”
Let us echo with King David, in his praise and awe-filled psalms to God, Whose we are and why He put us here on this earth.
King David wrote: “Let those who worship Him rejoice in His glory. Let them sing for joy even in bed! Let everything that breathes praise the Lord.”
(Psalm 149:5; Psalm 150:6 NCV)
